"Delta Phi"
Optical phenomenon: caustics. The surface of this object resembles that of moving water. Illuminated from above, it reflects incoming light rays in various…
A Table with loose Legs
Three, two, one – stable. How many supports do we need to stabilize a tabletop? Without screws, without glue, of course. Sharp-minded (and experimental)…
Air cushion
Inventive talent is called for here! Use scissors and tape to build objects out of paper that float on the wide air cushion. While testing and optimising, you…
Aurora
A different kind of reflection. Colored filters in a mirror: why don’t we simply see their exact image? The surface of the mirror is rough. Restless,…
Ball sorting machine
Playful tidying up. Yellow. Red. Blue. This machine sorts the small, medium, and large balls among Pierre Andrès' “Machines Singulières” in a playful manner.…
Banana
If you place a blue filter exactly on the yellow banana, the banana appears green - logical, isn't it? A larger blue filter that also covers the white…
Beam Bridge
The simplest form, but not the most stable. This bridge demonstrates the forces acting on a straight beam when it is loaded and supported only at its two…
Bridge the Gap
Building bridges is not so easy - especially when you are not allowed to use nails, screws or glue! Here you only have nine identical wooden blocks at your…
Cartesian Diver
Sinks / Doesn’t Sink Sometimes called a “Cartesian diver,” this hollow body is partially filled with water and air. Depending on the pressure in the liquid,…
Chaotic Pendulum
Momentum and Joint A long, light pendulum connected to a small but heavy pendulum. A push on the knob sets the entire system in motion. The effect on the…
Chaotic Pendulum II
Momentum and Reversal Three smaller pendulums attached to a large rotating arm. A push on the knob sets the entire system in motion. The effect on the three…
Circular Deformations
Patterns come to life. Ovals form around stationary circles. Funnels emerge, cones rise. Curved lines perform a serpentine dance. Images that, when observed…
Geometric shapes come to life. What we think we see in the shapes of spinning discs! Ovals wrapping around stationary circles. Cones wobbling in a…
Color Contrast
How blue blue can be. Two color squares, one lighter, one darker. Are we sure? As different as we perceive them, they actually share the same color. We…
Dancing iron particles
«Dancing Trees» 81 electromagnets are covered with fine iron dust. The electromagnets can be controlled either via a sensor surface or via prepared programmes…
Deep Walls
Shadows in motion - moving silhouettes. On a large projection surface, divided into 16 fields, shadow images move towards and away from each other. Each…
Delayed Viewing
Acting and seeing with a time delay. Catching fish with a fishing line: normally, it’s simple enough, as the magnet on the line is easy to guide. But it gets…
Dialog in the Vase
Vase with two faces. At some point, the image flips: first, it’s a vase. It rotates. Wait! There are two faces. Two people talking to each other. Two…
Digital puppet theatre
Connect the various motors, switches and plugs together and make all the figures dance to your will.
Distorted Room (Ames Room)
Little one grows tall. An absolutely ordinary room, at least when viewed through the peephole. But wait, the little brother grows taller than the big sister…
Electric circuit
What conducts electricity and what does not? What is an electrical circuit? With small, individual electrical components, you can build simple circuits…
Electromagnetic puppet theatre
Electricity moves magnets. Three stations each contain four coils whose frequency and phase shift can be adjusted. Figures with magnetic legs can be placed on…
Escher’s endless Staircase
Ascending downwards. Luckily, this infinite staircase doesn’t exist in our world. It leads upwards endlessly, without ever reaching a top. Similarly, its path…
Farbenwechsel - Damen
Hidden Images Each toilet cubicle is alternately illuminated with pure red, yellow, and blue light. Images on the walls become visible only under a specific…
Favourite Uncle
Polarization + collage = Polage®. "Prometheus" is a unique work of art, layered on multiple levels. A picture that continuously changes, surprising and…
Floating Rings
Magical: Three rings floating in perfect balance. That they appear to balance like spinning coins is an illusion. The rings are firmly connected to one…
Fork balance
You can not only eat with a fork, but they are also easy to balance....
Ghost Images
"Triple Eye Lightsticks" Twelve multicolored, vertically arranged LED rods flicker. As the gaze slowly sweeps from left to right, images, text, and patterns…
Giant music box
by Brenda Hutchinson They decide themselves, with the help of small discs, which notes are played and thus create their own melody.
Giant Pin Screen
The largest Pin Screen in the world. With 250,000 movable plastic pins, the world’s largest Pin Screen creates three-dimensional impressions of fingers,…
Gothic Arch and Flying Buttress
With pillars and arches. Like in a cathedral: this is how forces act in a structure with a tall pointed arch and a system of buttresses. What significant…
Harmonograph
Each drawing is a unique masterpiece. With precision and stability, this arm guides the pen across the paper. Held by magnets on a slowly rotating holder, the…
Hollow Head
Only has eyes for you. One step to the left, three to the right, stretch upward a little, bend down: there’s no escape. Those eyes follow you…
Impossible Nuts
A perfectly straight pencil that wiggles. When the brain resists what the eye sees: it seems impossible for the pencil to move through the two nuts in such a…
Inclined Chess
Big and bulky for some – small and slim for others. A completely messed-up chess set, right? Agreed? Almost. The chessboard is perfectly level. The pieces…
Leonardo’s Bridge
Clever: How Leonardo da Vinci builds a lightweight bridge. No screws, no nails, no ropes; just a few planks. From these, he creates a sturdy bridge. An idea…
Light games
Can you stage your own shadow theatre with simple materials? The exciting lighting and the play with the coloured shadows really set the scene for your…
Loose Stone Bridge
Brilliantly strong and simple. Loose stones, assembled in the correct order, form a bridge capable of bearing weight. Even in a small format, it can support…
Luminous sculptures
Three dimensional circuits. Two contacts are attached to each of three stations, which can be connected with the help of magnetic rods and iron balls. The…
Magic Wave
A mechanical work of art: A rhythmic rise and fall of metal segments, reminiscent of traveling waves. With a remarkable setup, the artist induces phenomenal…
Magic Wave Model
Magical wave in the stairwell – principle clearly explained. A rotating arm, cords, guide points, and straight metal segments create a wave-like motion that…
Magnetic building blocks
Unconventional building blocks. There is a magnet in each of the different building blocks. Depending on the position of the poles, the building blocks can…
Marble track wall
Various tubes, wooden boards, cardboard strips, etc. can be attached to the large perforated walls with long wooden dowels. This creates very individual marble…
Mirror cubes
Create different figures with coloured wooden blocks and on a mirror surface. What does the built cube world look like mirrored several times?
Moving Objects
Rings, rings, rings in a row. Hundreds of small rubber rings move along horizontally stretched strings. Seemingly at random, from right to left – and back…
Obstinate Swing
Let it swing. One person sits still, while one or two others start swinging. Soon, the seated person begins to oscillate as well. These swings, connected by…
Pin Screen
200,000 needles – a fakir’s delight. Two hundred thousand needles suspended in a perforated board. They beg to be stroked. No pain involved. These needle tips…
Plantoid
Brilliantly programmed: assign colors, define sequences. This tree lights up just the way you like it. Colors, gradients, frequencies, and sequences – you…
Propulsion paths
Gear wheels of different sizes can be put together and several wheels can be connected with rubber bands. Can you make the whole construction work from start…
RadiMax (MaxiWheel)
Infinity Top. Moment of inertia, angular momentum, and precession – a delightful interplay. Playing with the RadiMax requires some skill. On the wire-mesh…
Rainbow stones
You can arrange various geometric shapes of colourful, oversized glass stones on top of each other and let your imagination run wild. What colour patterns…
Reversed Perspective
Art gallery reveals contradictions. This three-dimensional spatial sculpture completely overturns our visual habits. It flips the space by presenting elements…
Seelenspiegel
Colorful light is brought to life by your imagination. The interaction of light with various glass objects and filters creates fascinating color patterns on a…
Seesaw pump
Fill and empty the caterpillar. This only works if the team of three is perfectly in sync: fill the hose with water from the pond, pass the water along, and…
Seifenblasenspender - Damen
Soap Foam Press firmly on the bellows: the soap dispenser immediately produces light bubbles for handwashing. Location: 1st floor, staircase 2 (rear…
Seifenblasenspender - Herren
Shadow Casting Panel
Shadows are information. In the "shadow projection plate," the visual information (pixel values) of two different images is stored on a single medium. Each of…
Small Pin Screen
Impression and imprint. Press the pins to create a three-dimensional representation. Hand imprint or greeting message? Both. The image is quickly erased – and…
Solarmobile
Light becomes electric energy. The elements in this mobile each contain a solar cell and an electric motor. If you point the light of a lamp at one of the…
Still Empty
“Still Empty”: The attempt to fill a glass with light. What a Sisyphean task! The beam (plasma, a secret mixture of noble gases) continuously flows into the…
Suspension Bridge
Vibration Patterns. Experience resonance frequency: Walking across the suspension bridge sets it into oscillation. Depending on your movement, these…
Three Chairs
A different perspective: spatial perception. Looking through the peephole reveals three chairs. Only one is built as we would expect. A side view into the…
Top chair
Lean back and spin around. As beautiful as a sculpture – and it sets everyone spinning, this chair. It rocks. It rotates. Or simply remains still. by Thomas…
Tresortüre - Damen
The Secure Spot A vault door locks this cubicle. The WC door is opened by turning the handwheel. Location: 2nd floor, staircase 1 (near the entrance)
Tresortüre - Herren
Turntable
Rolling in place. Balls and rings on a table. On top, a rotating disc – with countless ways to play. Rings wobble, fast-rolling billiard balls stay in…
Unsicherer Boden - Damen
Mountain Ridges and Valley Floors. The entire floor is covered with a film depicting dips and bumps. This creates the illusion of a completely wavy surface,…
Unsicherer Boden - Herren
Unstable structures
You can assemble various structures from rubber rods and wooden blocks. How well do which structures hold together? Can you build a tower as high as possible?
Vertical Mobiles (Chaotic Pendulums)
Chaotic pendulums. Length and amplitude: the behavior of a simple pendulum can be precisely described. No randomness involved. Add another pendulum, then one…
Vibrating Pin Screen
Pulsating images. Almost a quarter-million swinging pendulums! Nails of varying lengths, suspended in a perforated board and set in motion. The oscillation…
Water games
This exhibit is not accessible during the winter months. Pump like the world champions: Here, water can be pumped in the most diverse ways. A big playground…
Wave Machine
Waves like at the sea. Peter Markley spent many hours on the beach, watching for his father’s fishing boat. Naturally, he gazed at the sea. Time well spent:…
Welcome to Sector K… ?
This is how we read, this is how we understand written text. A letter is missing, the word is misspelled – and yet, we immediately understand what is…
Wind Veil
by Ned Kahn This façade is a real eye-catcher: it makes the movement of the air around us visible in an impressive way. Thousands of small aluminium plates are…
Wire Mesh Sculpture
Movement illusion. With a poetic touch, this artwork depicts movement illusions that underlie film and television technology. The wire figures differ only…
Wobbly Bridge I Arch Bridge / Wobbly Bridge II Suspension Bridge
Suspension bridge – an arch bridge viewed from a different angle and subjected to a different load. Resembling a suspension bridge, the chain bridge reflects…
Wooden machine A
Levers on all sides. It looks like a ship engine and provides plenty to do. Operate the levers with your hands, with your feet, on all four sides of this…
Wooden machine B
The Elk. Or is it a dinosaur? Everyone can decide according to their own preference. Elk or dinosaur, the game works like this: first, use the levers, then…
Wooden machine C
The swing rises. With each button press, the ball moves a little higher. On one side, the button lifts it, on the other, the swing drives the ball lift. At «…
Wooden machine D
How? Where? What? Foot pedal: Drives the ball lift. Gear lever: Influences the descent path. Crank with wheel: Keeps the ball in play. by Pierre Andrès: « On…
Wooden machine F
Delicate sounds. It recalls a log of wood. But the sounds of this machine are more subtle, and the joyful rhythm is different from chopping wood. Operate the…
Wooden machine G
Tug the rope. The marble lift rises, floor by floor, with no display, no button. Here, you are the motor! Your pull on the rope sets everything in motion. At…
Wooden machine H
What's it about? Go up as fast as possible. Go down as slowly as possible. Is that the plan? If you set your own goal: that’s exactly the inventor’s…
Wooden machine I
The good-natured elephant. Rock the lever back and forth, and the ball climbs up, moves over the back, and rolls forward to the trunk. A strong sense of…
Wooden machine L
Wheel, plunger, slider. Turning the wheel launches the ball into play, almost like a pinball machine. The second launch option, using the plunger, makes it…
Wooden machine M
Left side / Right side. Which path will the ball take after starting? And where will it finally end up? Left or right, both sides offer exciting routes to…
Wooden machine N
Pinball. Unlike a classic pinball machine, the ball starts at the top. The position of the two levers determines its path downward and how long it stays in…
Wooden machine O
Piano play. The six keys of this machine serve as controls. They guide the way up – and back down again. Ready for another round? Machines to play, artworks…
Wooden machine P
Steering the ball’s path. On this “tennis racket,” the ball stays in place even without special skill. But to navigate through the labyrinth, you need to…
Wooden machine Q
Around the tower. Start on the seesaw, then, clack, clack, clack, floor by floor, the ball moves down the tower to the exit. Machines for playing, artworks…
Wooden machine R
Unicum. Unique in this park of unique machines: the balls are green and black. They move without ever being touched. Pierre Andrès, creator of the “Machines…
Wooden machine S
Understanding time and space. At the heart of Pierre Andrès' reflections was the intention to make the dimensions of space and time tangible, even for young…
Wooden machine T
Seesaws in motion. Two seesaws influence each other. At the start, the ball sets the movement of the next ball in motion. Machines for play, artworks to…
Zen-Brunnen
This exhibit is not accessible during the winter months. What does the water pumped up from the last two pumps of the water feature do? It combines to drive a…
«Poppier»
When walls wobble. Reversed perspective: it turns our visual habits upside down. The three-dimensional sculptural painting “Poppier” practically flips spaces…
Aus Rot und Grün wird ....) Farbmischung mit Kreiseln - inklusiv
bunte Papierscheiben tanzen. Plötzlich sehen wir Farben, die vorher gar nicht da waren. Wie kommt das? Und können wir mit nur drei Farben unsere…
Mission possible - Roboter bauen
Euer Team aus Entdeckungsfreudigen und Wissenschaftsbegeisterten hat einen mysteriösen Planeten entdeckt. Eure Mission? Das Geheimnis lüften, ob hier Leben…
Red and green make …? - colour mixing with spinning tops
Mixing colours differently: We build spinning tops and let colourful paper discs dance. Suddenly we see colours that weren't there before. How is that…
Small building blocks, big effects: Design your chain reaction
A small impulse can change the world. The flap of a butterfly's wings that triggers a hurricane on the other side of the world, or the cry of a mountain…
Benham's Disk
A rotating black-and-white disk produces the illusion of color. Rotate this black-and-white pattern at the right speed, and the pattern appears to contain…
A colored object may look different against different-colored backgrounds. In this investigation, you'll discover how colors seem to change when you place them…
Condiment Diver
To paraphrase French philosopher René Descartes: "I sink, therefore I am." Changes in fluid pressure affect the buoyancy of a Cartesian diver made from a…
Electrical Fleas
Start your own electric flea circus. You’re probably familiar with some of the effects of static electricity: It makes sparks when you comb your hair on a cold…
Magnetic Suction
Ding dong! This investigation shows how your doorbell works. Have you ever wondered how an old-style doorbell works? This Snack shows you how. A coil of wire…
Moire Patterns
Imperfect alignment can lead to interesting patterns. When you look through one chain-link fence at another, you sometimes see a pattern of light and dark…
Acoustics
Aggregate states
Algorithms
Animals, plants, habitats
Atomic and quantum physics
Atomic structure
Automats
Biology
Buoyancy
Chaos
Characteristics of life
Chemical Reactions
Chemistry
Colors
Computer science
Cryptology
Currents
Data and information
Design elements
Earth sciences
Electricity
Electricity and energy
Electricity and magnetism
Elektromagnetismus
